immediate necessity in which case decrees in the nature of a
law may be issued in accordance with special conditions, but only when
they are in connection with the execution of a law or what has by law
been delegated.

12. International treaties shall not be concluded without the consent
of Parliament, but the conclusion of peace or a declaration of war may
be made by the Emperor if Parliament is not sitting, the approval of
Parliament to be obtained afterwards.

13. Ordinances in connection with the administration shall be settled by
Acts of Parliament.

14. In case the Budget fails to receive the approval of Parliament the
Government cannot act upon the previous year's Budget, nor may items of
expenditure not provided for in the Budget be appended to it. Further,
the Government shall not be allowed to adopt extraordinary financial
measures outside the Budget.

15. Parliament shall fix the expenses of the Imperial household, and any
increase or decrease therein.

16. Regulations in connection with the Imperial family must not conflict
with the Constitution.

17. The two Houses shall establish the machinery of an administrative
court.

18. The Emperor shall promulgate the decisions of Parliament.

19. The National Assembly shall act upon Articles 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14,
15 and 18 until the opening of Parliament.

EDICTS OF ABDICATION

I

We (the Emperor) have respectfully received the following Imperial Edict
from Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager Lung Yu:--

As a consequence of the uprising of the Republican Army, to which the
different provinces immediately responded, the Empire seethed like a
boiling cauldron and the people were plunged into utter misery. Yuan
Shih-kai was, therefore, especially commanded some time ago to dispatch
commissioners to confer with the representatives of the Republican Army
on the general situation and to discuss matters pertaining to the
convening of a National Assembly for the decision of the suitable mode
of settlement. Separated as the South and the North are by great
distances, the unwillingness of either side to yield to the other can
result only in the continued interruption of trade and the prolongation
of hostilities, for, so long as the form of government is undecided, the
Nation can have no peace. It is now evident that the hearts of the
majority of the people are in favour of a republican form of government:
the provinces of the South were the first to es